


The Dawn Princess and the Green Dragon

by ProPinkist



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Akayona Secret Santa 2016, Family, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, canon scene extension, just the slightest allusion to Jae-ha's past if you squint hard and turn your head, no manga spoilers at all, probably my worst yet lol, wow original title is original
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 03:27:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9053323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProPinkist/pseuds/ProPinkist
Summary: Jae-ha and Yona talk the night of the festival after the battle in Awa. To his chagrin, he finds that his admiration for this strange girl is making it difficult for him to stick to his vow to not stay by her side.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Akatsuki no Yona Secret Santa on tumblr~ This is an extension of the scene in episode 23/chapter 38, where Yona and Jae-ha talk on the cliff overlooking the sea after Kumji is taken down. I wish we'd gotten to see more of Jae-ha's thought process with Yona after she pulled off the fireworks mission that led him into deciding to ultimately join her, so here it is. It was admittedly a little tough to write him still slightly cynical with knowing how much more open he is with everyone in the story now. :') Also wanted Yona to have a little time to let everything out with everything she'd been through so far.

“What a beautiful sound.”

Amethyst eyes met hers as Yona gazed down at the person at her feet, listening to the hauntingly breathtaking melody he played. He did it as if it was nothing, his fingers deft and natural, and she couldn’t help but be enamored.

“Would you like to try?”

Jae-ha held the instrument out to her, and Yona grinned shyly, taking it in her hands and sitting down beside him. Figuring that it shouldn’t be too difficult from thinking of the lessons she had had in the past with something similar to this, she put the bow to the strings and forged ahead without hesitation.

It didn’t last very long.

“…You make a better pirate,” Jae-ha cough-laughed a few moments later, and Yona turned away, her face reddening.

“I-I can play the harp and dance a little.”

“Harp and dance, huh?”

Yona didn’t miss his widening grin as he stared off into the distance, chin in his hand, and she pursed her lips indignantly. “Are you still laughing at me, Jae-ha?”

“No,” he replied, his expression softening. “…I was just thinking about how you’re a girl.”

She glanced up at him, surprised and confused, and Jae-ha continued.

“You are… so small… uncertain… and powerless… You’re a hassle.”

“Are you insulting me?!” Yona sputtered in response, but she was ignored.

“Furthermore, you came all this way in search of me. That’s… such a nuisance.”

He didn’t say any more, and as much as she wanted to protest, Yona simply sighed, rising from the ground and dusting herself off. “Worry not; I won’t push you to come with me anymore. …Goodbye.”

Yona turned to leave, but a hand grabbed hers and stopped her.

“…I don’t understand you, Jae-ha” she finally said, exasperated.

“I’m just a very honest guy. …I like to spend the night of a party with a cute girl.”

“…Is that so?”

Yona shook her head amusedly, not knowing what she could possibly say to that, and joined his side once more. Jae-ha said nothing, and she so stared out at the water in front of them in silence.

_It’s calm now, and beautiful… I hope it can stay that way from now on._

“Lovely view, isn’t it?” Jae-ha finally murmured, as if reading her thoughts exactly. “I haven’t seen the ocean this empty and tranquil in a long time.”

“It’s wonderful… one of the most breathtaking sights I’ve seen with everywhere I’ve been.”

“You’ve traveled a lot, haven’t you?” Jae-ha was giving her a knowing look, and Yona smiled at him sadly, putting her fingers together and feeling the last traces of the wounds the thorns had left.

“Yes… It’s not what I’m used to, but… I’ve managed. I worry that poor Kija will always be uncomfortable though, even if he doesn’t let it show much anymore.”

“I can see how he would be,” Jae-ha smirked, drawling. “Though his desire to fulfill his duty and protect you will force him to stomach any unpleasantries he would have to deal with.”

“Well, I think it’s very noble of him,” Yona asserted, ignoring the jab in Jae-ha’s statement. “…I just wish he didn’t have to feel like he needs to worry about me so much… Yoon too… and Hak…”

“That’s what amazes me the most about you.”

Yona’s eyes widened, and she looked up at Jae-ha for the first time in a while. His expression was bemused but his eyes with something she couldn’t quite name, and Yona blushed slightly even as she didn’t know why.

“W-What?”

“Like I said before, you couldn’t be any weaker or more powerless, as a little girl… and yet… you try so hard to go above and beyond your capabilities… and somehow… _somehow_ … you succeed. It would be so easy for you to simply have the dragons and that dragon-like man do your will for you, so you could remain safe and never have to worry about being hurt, or killed, never have to cry in fear… but you choose not to be like that.”

He put his hand to his face, sighing but still smiling.

“I admire you for it… but at the same time, I can see how exhausting you must be for those four.”

Yona slowly turned back towards the sea, drawing her knees up and resting her head on them.

“…I decided long ago that I couldn’t live the easier way.”

Her ankle throbbed again numbly, having taken a beating from their escapade on the ship, but she ignored it.

“I said it back when I first met you… I don’t want to think of everyone as simply my bodyguards… it’s cruel, and not right. They aren’t lower than me; they’re my friends… Hak is my dear, childhood friend… and as their equal, I can’t use my weakness as an excuse to not do my best, just as they are.

“We may still be searching for all the dragons now, excluding you… but even now, and after, I want to help this country as best I can… do everything in my power. Asking the dragons to fight for someone who thought of nothing more than protecting herself would be the most selfish thing to do.”

Yona paused, breathing shakily and gripping her hands together tightly to ground her.

“…I may be small… and I may be weak… but what I can do, I will. …A-And of course I’m scared; I’m probably more scared than I even let myself realize… b-but nothing scares me more in this entire world than watching people I love, people I want to protect, get h-hurt because of me, or because I was unable to do anything to stop it… I-I can’t… c-can’t watch any more innocent people die… I _can’t…!”_

_Father, so that there are no more who meet the same fate as you, I must go against everything you ever believed in and taught me… I’m so sorry…!_

“Yona.”

She jerked her head up, the voice interrupting her emotional speech as small tears escaped her eyes.

“…It’s okay now. Everyone is all right; Yoon, and everybody else… and you.”

Jae-ha’s face and voice were surprisingly soft, and Yona was caught off-guard when he hesitantly reached his arm out, setting it on her shoulders comfortingly. It wasn’t an embrace, but she leaned her head into his arm naturally, enjoying the warm feeling that being around any of the dragons gave her.

“You are strong… strong to be so brave even when you’re scared, Yona,” Jae-ha said quietly, his voice the kindest she had ever heard it. “…I don’t completely understand it, but at the same time… I do. Your desire to keep people safe…”

He trailed off, a sad smile on his face, and Yona mirrored it once she realized what he was getting at.

“The Captain and the other pirates… They are good people. I’m glad I was able to help them, and help the rest of Awa.”

“Yeah… they’re a crazy bunch alright, but I can’t imagine myself having settled in any place much better than this,” he said nostalgically, looking fond, and Yona nodded slowly in agreement.

“But anyway,” Jae-ha continued. “As much as I’d like to tell you to not be so risky, just as the others do… I cannot help but admire you as well. Even if I don’t wish to follow you as one of your dragon warriors, you are a person worthy of my respect. …After all, you fight to free people from anyone and anything that might cripple their lives, and that is certainly something I can get behind, always.”

“I-I’m just doing what I have to do, is all… anything anyone would do,” Yona stammered, blushing even as her lips curled upwards. “…But thank you, Jae-ha; you’re very sweet… I’ll be sad leaving you soon.”

“And then I’m reminded just why this whole situation is so annoying,” Jae-ha said exasperatedly, sighing good-naturedly. “I can’t come with you, but you present so many tempting arguments to the contrary.”

“Well, I’m not _trying_ to do that,” Yona smirked, laughing a little. “I told you you weren’t obligated to join us… in the end, I’m leaving the decision entirely up to you.”

“Indeed… Ah, well, I still have some time to think on this perplexing dilemma.”

With that, they fell silent, the only sound once again being that of the faint party far behind them. Jae-ha had never taken his hand off of her despite everything he’d said, and Yona was grateful and touched. She hadn’t known him for very long at all, but she already liked the Green Dragon a lot, and although he seemed a little rough around the edges, Yona knew he was truly good at heart. Jae-ha truly had a wonderful family here in the Captain and the pirates, and he wielded his power with sort of jubilation and freeness that Kija and Shin-ah could not… Indeed, all of the dragons came from different backgrounds, for better or for worse, and Yona thought it should have occurred to her that she might meet one who didn’t wish to join her simply because they wanted something else out of their life.

Jae-ha loved flying more than anything else, and she didn’t want to take that away from him. …But why did the thought of parting with him have to make her so terribly sad?

_Something deep inside of me longs to be with you, just like it longs to be with Kija and Shin-ah… Why is that? I want to learn more about you… so much more… I want to stay your friend._

“…I only ask one thing, Yona,”

Shaken out of her thoughts, she glanced to the right again at Jae-ha curiously, nodding imperceptibly.

“Being brave is the hardest thing anyone can do… so don’t keep your fear inside you. If it’s bad enough that you want to let it out later… do that. Everyone will be there for you, I know it.”

He smiled sadly at her, his hand on her back moving ever so slightly.

“Do what you most believe in… but make time for _you_ too.”

Jae-ha’s words hit her like a ton of bricks, and like the flick of a switch and without completely understanding why, Yona suddenly found herself crying again, harder than she could remember having done in so long now. She held her hands to her face, the faint scent of honey still noticeable, and wept, feeling Jae-ha’s light touch on her shoulders turn become a full-fledged hug. Yona clung to him, inhaling the smell of seawater that emanated from the Green Dragon, and cried, unable to stop herself from thinking about everything she had seen and been through up until now, because even though she had been able to lock everything away as best she could at some point after finding Kija, _god_ it still hurt; truly, she hadn’t realized how much it all still _hurt_ , from the starving villages to Shin-ah’s lonely life to the murdered child to the scared women to Hak’s near-death to _Soo-won_ , to _Il_ -

After a few minutes had passed that felt like a few years, Yona had calmed down enough to speak, her cries quieting. Sensing this, Jae-ha slowly let go of her, allowing her to lean back and stare up at him hesitantly.

“…Better now?” he asked softly.

“Y-Yes…” Yona whispered, her voice weak. She cast her gaze down at her lap, folding her hands together and being glad they were no longer trembling, at least. “I-I… I’m sorry, I lost my composure… It all just s-sort of… came out… all at once…”

Feeling a warm presence on her head, Yona looked at Jae-ha again. His smile was both understanding and sad as he ruffled her hair gently, and something inside of her, the sensation she had whenever she was near the dragons, flared up even stronger.

“…It’s okay; I get it. You don’t have to worry.” His expression melted into one more like his normal self, and Jae-ha pulled away, turning his body back in the direction of the ocean while still looking at her. “…Although, I _do_ feel bad I made a girl cry, even if it was needed.”

Yona stared, wide-eyed, in response to his reply that was so very like Jae-ha, and she suddenly found herself laughing. It reminded her of back when he had rescued her on the Vanishing Cape, declaring it as nothing more than an obvious course of action when with a girl. Although he could go a bit overboard sometimes, he had good intentions at heart, that much she knew.

“One moment I feel like you’re insulting me, and the next moment you’re making me feel like the most special person in the world,” Yona giggled, wiping the last of her tears away as she breathed steadily for the first time in a bit. “…Thank you, though, again… I feel like I understand what kind of person you are now.”

“That’s because you _are_ the most special person in the world… to so many of us,” Jae-ha murmured vaguely, his expression indecipherable. Eventually he smirked, still appearing as if he was talking to himself. “…Hak will definitely have his hands full with you, that’s for sure.”

“Hm?”

“…Nothing.” Jae-ha reached to the side, taking his erhu in hand again and preparing to play once more. “Yona… what you did tonight changed history. I wish you luck in your endeavors… I know that you can achieve everything you want to, and more… If it’s you, I definitely believe it.”

Yona gazed out at the night sea again, the sight soothing her.

“I’m glad… to hear that from you.”

Next to her, the Green Dragon grinned, propping his bow up onto the strings. “The crazy girl with the hair as beautiful as the dawn sky who saves entire towns in a single night; I never would have believed it until I saw it with my own eyes… truly a story for the ages.”

She said nothing in response, simply closing her eyes as the beautiful sound of Jae-ha’s song took over the silence. It filled her with peace and warmth, and as Yona naturally found herself leaning against her companion’s shoulder, she felt like maybe, just maybe, her hopes for this country could one day become reality.

_It’ll be okay._ I’ll _be okay. Just one step at a time._

 

* * *

 

A little while later, Jae-ha found himself with a sleeping princess on his hands, and with a resigned sigh as he laid her down and covered her up, he knew what he had to do.

“…Guess there’s no helping it, is there? To think that I was so easily won over… ah well, seeing where she goes from here will be worth it.”

At the very least, it would be fun to watch that Thunder Beast dance around her at every turn.


End file.
